1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging ink onto a print medium so as to perform printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ink jet heads provided in ink jet printers so as to discharge ink, such a type is known that includes: a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink; a plurality of pressure chambers in fluid communication with each nozzle; and a plurality of actuators arranged in correspondence to each pressure chamber. When each actuator is driven, the volume of a pressure chamber corresponding to the actuator decreases so that ink corresponding to the decreased volume is discharged from the nozzle. In such an ink jet head, ink having high viscosity can stick to the inside of the nozzle. Alternatively, impurities or bubbles having flowed from the ink tank can mix in. When such a situation occurs, the ink discharging characteristics are disturbed so that a good printing result is not obtained. Accordingly, a purge operation is performed in which a large amount of ink is periodically discharged from all the nozzles so as to purge high viscosity ink, impurities, and bubbles present in the nozzle.
Furthermore, in a known technique for collecting the ink discharged in the purge operation, a sheet (maintenance sheet) is provided that has flexibility and ink absorbency (JP-A-2000-168062). In this technique, the sheet is arranged in a position opposing the ink discharging surface, and then a purge operation is performed. The ink discharged in the purge operation is absorbed and retained in the sheet. This ensures the discharged ink to be collected without leakage. Furthermore, the sheet is flexible, and hence can be accommodated in a rolled-up state. This permits space reduction to a certain extent in comparison with the use of a cap.